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BEYOND THE LISTING: Streator '60s pad for sale

July 25, 2018

Ranch house shows off bygone style

The house at 28 Irene St. represents the swinging sixties, Streator-style.

[Tom Sistak]

The 1,350-square-foot, brick and stucco home sits in the Mic Pic Subdivision, just outside the northwest corner of the city limits. At the time this area began to develop in the early 1960s, the subdivision presented a new look, compared to the older, more traditional neighborhoods in Streator.

A number of houses that shot up in Mic Pic were Space Age ranch homes, the style of which first took off in the late 1940s on the West Coast, then spread across the country, before burning out in the late 1960s.

[Tom Sistak]

The low-slung house on Irene Street, built around 1966, is a textbook example, with two roofs, a rounded exterior wall, hardwood floors and deep overhanging eaves, among other features that mark its character.

[Tom Sistak]

A large stone fireplace commands attention over the sunken living room. The back side of the fireplace faces the kitchen, with an oven built in to stone. A glass block window lets natural light shine into the living room and the beamed ceiling adds to the coziness.

[Tom Sistak]

Besides the fireplace, the home is heated by hot water radiators — the best heating system, in the view of many.

The original owners were Donald and Margie Higgs. Donald was a teacher at Streator High School. Current owner Charlene Hammann, who is also a teacher, bought the three-bedroom, one-bath house in 1998.

[Tom Sistak]

"It's great for a young or older couple and it's close to a lot — the YMCA, Eastwood Golf Course, the Knights of Columbus, Centennial School, if the new owners have children. The house is also very economical to heat and clean," Hammann said.

[Tom Sistak]

While the house serves as an example of Space Age design, the yard is the size of a galaxy, measuring almost one acre, with an above-ground swimming pool and deck. Shade is provided by plenty of mature maples. The back yard is fenced with a sizable patio. The price is $105,000.

[Tom Sistak]

INTERESTED in this baby? Contact Terry Egeland, of Coldwell Banker the Real Estate Group in Morris, at: 815-942-2705.